Five Brave Souls
by Sergeant Conley
Summary: 4 ODST's survive the slaughter of their platoon...only to be sent with a Spartan on what can only be called a suicide mission.
1. Chapter 1

Five Brave Souls

**Five Brave Souls**

_This story is dedicated to my friend Dan, who came up with this great story (originally as a machinima), but was never able to get it made before Halo 3 came out .Thanks for letting me be part of the project, and for "novelizing" it._

_Disclaimer: I do not own the video game series Halo, or any of the contents of its universe. I only co-own the central characters._

**Part 1: The Helljumpers**

With an explosion, Private Rowen scored a direct hit on the Ghost. Reloading his M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Launcher, he ducked back behind cover with the other six surviving members of 1st Platoon, Bravo Company of the 502nd ODST Battalion. Of the original 35 Orbital Drop Shock Troopers stationed in the outpost on the city limits, all but thirteen had been killed within two minutes, but four had been killed in action by the mass amounts of Covenant. The main threat was the Brutes. Those damn Brutes. Of the remaining seven soldiers, there were two riflemen and a fire team leader (all armed with the MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System Assault Rifles), the platoon corpsman Crewman Apprentice "Doc" Merven (currently reloading his M7 Caseless SMG), the 2nd Squad's Bravo Team heavy weapons specialist Rowen, the platoon sniper Corporal Ryerson, and the platoon sergeant, Staff Sergeant Cardell (the only survivor using a BR55HB SR Battle Rifle). Currently, these seven ODST's were taking cover in a bombed out building that had served as the armory of the outpost, before the bravo kilos and the golfs showed up.

"Sir, we got a Grunt squad moving up on the left, they're trying to flank us!" cried the fire team leader as he was reloading.

"Dammit!" cried Sergeant Cardell in response as he took down a Jackal. "Alright, here's what we-"

"Sarge! We got a Banshee incoming!" cried Ryerson's voice over the comm. channel. The sniper himself was currently prone on the roof and taking out targets of opportunity when he noticed the enemy air support. Now he was moving into a vent that would provide cover from the Banshee while still giving him a field of fire on the enemy.

"Shit, we gotta open a hole and get outta here." Cardell said as he flicked the charging rod of his rifle. "Corporal, take your men, flank right, and hit the Covvies from the side. Stay under cover, watch out for that Banshee. Move on my mark. Ready?"

"Yes sir!" replied the fire team leader.

"Okay, three, two, one, mark! Covering fire!" With that the three ODST's moved out to the right while Cardell, Merven, and Rowen covered them. Bullets flew, plasma soared, and the firefight continued for several minutes…longer than it should have taken.

"What the hell's takin' them so long?!" Rowen cried as he lifted his Assault Rifle and fired, his rocket launcher currently on his back.

"Corporal Lansom, what's your status, over?" Sergeant Cardell asked into his comm mike. He received only static.

"Ryerson, do read me?" Cardell said into his mike. "Do you have visual on Lansom and his team, over?"

"Negative, Sarge, I have no visual on any friendlies. Just waves of furbags and Grunts, over." Ryerson replied before taking down one of the aforementioned furbags.

"Alright, see if you can move into a position to gain visual, over."

"Roger." Ryerson replied before emerging from his hiding spot and running along the roof and down a set of stars. Now inside, he moved along the hall and past several windows before turning a corner and continuing. Soon, he came to a part of the wall that had been destroyed. Stopping, Ryerson didn't even have to use his scope to see the three new bodies on the ground below. Then, without warning, a bluish purple beam of light and energy flashed before Ryerson, causing him to dive to the wall to his left.

"Sarge, Lansom and his men are dead. The Covvies got a sniper covering this flank. Most likely a Jackal, over."

"Roger that." Sergeant Cardell replied. Turning to Rowen, he asked "How many rockets do you have left?"

"Four, sir."

"Alright, here's the plan," Cardell spoke into his mike, addressing all three of the other survivors. "Ryerson, can you take out that sniper?" Ryerson looked around the debris and noticed a hole in the wall at floor level. Going prone, he had a clear shot at the sniper, who was, in fact, a Jackal.

"Affirmative."

"Good. On my mark, Rowen will take out the enemy air support, you take out that sniper, and Doc will lay covering fire. I'm gonna head for the motor pool, get us a ride, and pick all three of you up Understood?" The replies were all affirmative in that regard.

"Alright, on my mark: three, two, one, mark!" With that, Sergeant Cardell ran out to the left, firing Battle Rifle bursts at the Covenant as he ran. Rowen stepped out far enough to get a view on the Banshee. With a squeeze of the launcher's oversized trigger, the aircraft was blown out of the sky. He then ducked back behind cover and raised his Assault Rifle for obvious reasons. Ryerson applied the appropriate amount of pressure on the trigger to quite literally blow the brains out the back of the Jackal's skull.

Staff Sergeant Cardell darted down an alley and ran, his eyes focused on the general direction of the motor pool, what the men called the "40 car garage". Though he encountered a few Grunts along the way, he was able to make it into the driver's seat of an M831 Troop Transport Warthog without any trouble. Gunning the engine, he maneuvered through the streets at breakneck speed (always taking the time to run down a few Brutes along the way, of course). With a jerk of the steering wheel and a push of the brake, he skidded to a stop directly in front of Merven and Rowen's position (which had been joined by Ryerson while he was gone). The three mounted into the rear seats before Cardell turned the wheel, and gunned down the streets, passing/mowing any Covenant in his way, praying that they never met a Hunter or Fuel Rod Gun equipped Brute along the way. His prayers were granted, and soon, the four ODST's were out of the combat zone, and headed for the HQ.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the video game series Halo, or any of the contents of its universe

_Disclaimer: I do not own the video game series Halo, or any of the contents of its universe. I only co-own the central characters of this fic._

**Part 2: The Op**

Several minutes had passed since the ODST's had escaped what was once an outpost, but had become a slaughterhouse. Sergeant Cardell was currently driving the Transport Warthog deeper into the city, the other three survivors watching carefully for signs of enemy contacts. Turning onto Sheridan Avenue, Cardell saw his destination: a field headquarters in a small business building, or what remained of it. He came to a stop near it before exiting the driver's seat.

"Alright, Merven, collect what medical supplies you need. Rowen, head to the armory and grab whatever ammo we need. Grenades too. Corporal Ryerson, collect any rations we're lacking, and refill the canteens. I'm gonna find whoever's in charge and get new orders." Sergeant Cardell ordered. After he and the others handed their canteens to Ryerson, Cardell strode into the HQ, set his Battle Rifle onto his armor's back magnets, and removed his helmet. Stepping up to a radio set, he addressed the ODST working on one of the field computers. "Who's in command here?" he asked.

"That would be me." said a voice from behind the staff sergeant. Turning around, he saw the officer who had spoken.

"Major Austad?" he asked, obviously confused.

"That's right." said Major Torgeir Austad, commanding officer of the 502nd ODST Battalion, 83rd Marines Regiment. He wore the basic armor of an ODST, but his helmet was replaced with the black patrol caps issued to ODST's. "Would you come this way, Staff Sergeant?" he asked. Though obviously shocked by the presence of such a high ranking officer in such an unimportant position, Cardell followed, his helmet tucked under his arm. Major Austad had grown up and lived in the Earth country of Norway, but he spoke with little to no accent of any kind. "So what's the situation?" he asked as he led the noncom to his office in the back of the HQ.

"With all due respect, sir, I already told the techie I contacted over the radio." Cardell replied as he sat at the battered desk across from the officer.

"I know, he informed once he broke contact with you. I just need to hear it myself…Captain Garcia wanted me to be sure that a third of his company was actually dead."

Sergeant Cardell let out a sigh. "Okay," he said. "I'll talk. It started when we lost contact with 3rd Squad's Fire Team Bravo. They'd been sent out on routine patrol, and we just thought that something was up with the comms. When the Brutes attacked, we pretty much figured out they were dead. It was a full scale infantry attack. No vehicles or armor involved, just one Banshee. The El Tee was killed in the first few seconds of the attack. Damn Spiker took his ear off before it hit his head. The squad leaders and I tried to rally the boys, but they were just too fast. I managed to escape with heavy weapons gunner, Private Rowen, our sniper Corporal Ryerson, and our corpsman Merven."

"Need a cigarette?" Major Austad asked as he pulled out his pack, a crumpled package of Marlboros.

"Thank you sir." Cardell said as he accepted the major's cigarette and light. "If you don't mind me asking sir, why are you here? I'd expect a company CO at the most."

"To give you your orders. Special orders, directly from ONI."

Cardell froze at the mention of the Office of Naval Intelligence. "ONI? What the hell do _they_ want?" he asked.

"Don't know," said Major Austad as he blew smoke. Using his cigarette fingers, he pointed down a hall. "But he does." Turning to glance down that hall, Cardell saw a figure that was taller than any human he'd ever seen, save for one. It was unmistakable what that green armored soldier was.

"A Spartan?" Cardell asked in disbelief. "Is that…?"

"No, the Chief's out in space somewhere with the frigate _In Amber Clad_, or was last we heard. This is one of the new ones, made in response to the number of Spartans gone MIA. Public don't know much about the new line yet, and neither does most of the Corps. This particular specimen is Petty Officer Second Class Steven Delgado-158. And he's got a mission."

"What kind?"

"Don't know. He won't tell, says it's too classified, even for a higher-up like me. The only thing he _would_ tell us is that he needed a platoon of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers for it, and fast."

Understanding dawned in Sergeant Cardell's eyes. "It was my platoon, wasn't it?"

"We tried to raise you on the radio roughly forty-five minutes ago. We thought it was a problem with the connection until you contacted us from your 'hog. No, we don't think it was a set up, the Covenant showed no signs of knowledge of the need for a platoon of soldiers."

Cardell nodded sullenly. "Looks like you'll have to find another one."

"Nope."

"…Sir?"

"Delgado said he would make due with the survivors of the platoon. Apparently, this mission is so important, it can't wait for proper reinforcements. You're going with him on this mission, whatever it is. I personally think it's a suicide mission, but that's what we're trained for."

"What about Razgriz?" asked Cardell, referring to the 502nd's Special Operations Unit. "Aren't they trained for this kinda stuff?"

"All five teams have already been deployed to areas all over the city. Don't have any to spare." Major Austad replied, closing the subject. He then stood, Cardell following suit. "Trust your instincts, a noncom's instincts are his best friend. I also wanna say good luck, Cardell." With that, he held out his hand. Cardell looked at it for a moment before shaking it.

"Thank you, sir." he said. With a salute, Cardell turned, walked down the hall toward the Spartan, and never saw the major again.

"Are you Staff Sergeant Cardell, 1st Platoon Sergeant, B Company?" asked the Spartan as Cardell approached.

"Yeah. You're looking for my platoon I hear." Cardell replied.

"Yes sir. You are needed for a highly classified mission of the utmost importance."

"And what kind of mission would that be?" asked Cardell as he dropped his now small cigarette to the ground and stamped it out.

"A retrieval mission. Several days ago, marines of the 18th Recon Battalion recovered a data disk from a Covenant encampment in the forests of the German/Austrian border. From it, ONI was able to learn of an approaching Covenant vessel, carrying a high ranking Brute Chieftain, thought to be the most tactically brilliant of his kind. His carrier has recently arrived in system, and I am to take your platoon into a boarding action on it. We will then eliminate all enemy resistance, clear the bridge, secure the Brute Chieftain Raisalus, and extract him back to Earth, where he will be interrogated by ONI for information and detained for negotiation purposes. But it seems our force will be a tad…underhanded."

"You got that right." Cardell mumbled. "And you seriously intend to go through with this mission, even though there're only five of us total?"

"Yes sir." Delgado replied. Cardell nodded.

"Okay. But let's get some things straight: I outrank you, so I have command. Secondly, I know for a fact that the only reason ONI wants my men on this Op is to be cannon fodder, but I'm not gonna let that happen. I also know that if something happens to me, you'll end up in command. If that happens, I don't care about your mission, you're number one priority will be to ensure the survival of my men. Am I understood, Petty Officer?"

For a moment, Delgado simply stood there. Then finally, he said "Yes sir. Understood."

"Good," said Sergeant Cardell. "I assume you have all the equipment you'll need, so wait at the landing pad. When my men and I are ready, we'll meet you there, and get started." With that, Cardell turned and headed towards the 'hog, where his men had already regrouped and were waiting.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the video game series Halo, or any of the contents of its universe

_Disclaimer: I do not own the video game series Halo, or any of the contents of its universe. I only co-own the central characters of this fic._

**Part 3: Contact**

"Captain, we have enemy contacts." said Ensign Brown, the sonar operator aboard the _UNSC Bangor_, the ship which carried what's its crew called "the Achmed Squad" due to the suicidal nature of their mission. _Bangor_ had received the Pelican carrying the "Achmed Squad", then joined the orbital space battle that had been raging for hours. They had approached the Covenant carrier that supposedly contained this officer that ONI wanted for questioning, but then it had boogied into slipspace. Miraculously, _Bangor_ had managed to follow it. Now they had just exited slipspace near an odd planet that wasn't on any of the UNSC charts.

"Is it the Chieftain's vessel?" asked the ship's commanding officer, Commander Isaac Hughes. Though he was only a commander, he was referred to as "Captain" due to his position in the crew, a Navy tradition dating back thousands of years.

"Affirmative, it is the target cruiser." said Ensign Brown.

"Alright. Alphin, set the crew to battle stations. Alert our guests as well. Let's get in close, I want as little distance as possible between our hangars. The ODST's will have less fire to travel through. Let's go people!"

Alarms blared through the hull of the _Bangor_ as crewman scrambled about to their positions. Marines were also scrambling, donning and securing their armor, locking and loading their weapons, and preparing for any anti-boarding action. Standing in one of the hangars was the fabled Achmed Squad.

"Jeez, with all these marines runnin' about, you'd figure we could take a few with us." said Ryerson, his sniper rifle leaning on his shoulder as he was sitting on a crate.

"I already asked for some. Turns out their roster is short-handed enough as it is. They'd be having a hard time repelling any Covenant boarders with what they currently have, they can't spare any to go get themselves killed." replied Sergeant Cardell, his Battle Rifle on his armor's back magnets.

"Due respect sir, but that's bullshit." Ryerson replied.

"Actually, it's true. I even checked the roster myself. It'd be a frickin' miracle if they kept the Covvies contained at the boarding sites."

"Staff Sergeant?" asked the Pelican's crew chief as he poked his head out of the passenger hold's hatch. "We're ready for take-off, we're just waiting for your men."

"Alright boys, you heard the man, load up." Cardell ordered. And so the five men climbed into the passenger hold of the Pelican. Soon, the hatched closed, leaving them in the red lighted interior.

"Jeez this is creepy." said Rowen. They then felt the Pelican lift, and rush forward into the blackness of space. Even through the thick metal hull of the dropship, the men could hear the raging space battle. They felt their transport bob and weave from side to side, most likely trying to avoid fire and other craft. The four ODST's couldn't help but think of the possibility that they might be shot down or collided into before reaching the enemy hangar. Delgado did not consider this possibility. As far as he was concerned, there would be no failure of any kind. There's the possibility that failure could happen, but he wouldn't let it happen.

"Jesus Christ, they could've at least built in some portholes so we could see what the **fuck** is happening out there!" Ryerson said in frustration.

"We're hitting the enmy hangar in 45 seconds. Say again, 45 to dirt." said the pilot through the comms.

"Alright boys, ready up! We're goin' in." Cardell said as he undid his seat harness and stood, holding onto the rail above the seats. The others did the same. Soon, the Pelican steadied and began firing its machine guns into the hangar, clearing the Covenant located there. As the Pelican began turning around to face the way they just came in, the ODST's and Steven readied their weapons. Soon, the Pelican shuddered as it hit the ground, the doors opened, and the Achmed Squad sprang into action.

Steven felt his boots hit the metal of the hangar floor, and moved with the speed and precision of a true Spartan, only noting Cardell leaving Ryerson behind to guard the Pelican. His Assault Rifle was aimed at the door as he approached it, the others in formation behind him. As they approached the door, it opened, revealing a Grunt squad and two Jackals. The enemies were promptly shredded by automatic weapons fire. Without missing a beat, Steven continued into the hall, following the waypoint marker in his HUD. The four UNSC personnel moved through the halls to the bridge, killing all Covenant in their way without mercy or thought, acting on reflex, training, and survival instincts. Within ten minutes, they reached the bridge door…which wouldn't open.

"So…now what? We knock?" asked Rowen as he glanced about the halls, his MA5C Assault Rifle lowered at the lack of hostiles.

"We could always find another way in." suggested Merven.

"You got any ideas Del…gado?" Cardell asked, then paused when he saw the Spartan kneeling in front of the door. When he stepped away, there was a black square on the door. The square had a blinking red light.

"You might wanna step back." Steven said as he began walking away to a safe distance. Rowen and Merven exchanged glances before bolting after him. Cardell simply shook his head before jogging off after the three. The blinking light began blinking faster, and without warning, the door was evaporated as the charge detonated. All three ODST's jumped in surprise. Steven remained stock still, then moved in with his precision and skill. The ODST's followed, and the four soon eliminated every living alien in the bridge.

"He's not here." Cardell noted. Not one of the dead Brutes was a Chieftan. "What do you think Delgado?" Cardell asked, his vision now on the Spartan standing at the controls. Cardell walked forward until he was next to the Spartan. He watched as Steven placed a chip into the controls, which in turn brought up a video screen. Steven scrolled through the recent archives, and soon came to a video of the target Raisalus. The Brute had left the bridge not five minutes before the Pelican had exited the _Bangor_'s hangar. Scrolling through several other videos, they saw the events unfold: Raisalus had entered a Phantom with his Brute Pack, and had set sail for the uncharted planet.

"So…what now?" asked Rowen. Steven turned and began walking towards the door they'd breached.

"We go after him." Delgado simply said.

"I take it you didn't get him?" asked Ryerson as the group returned, stepping over the new bodies Ryerson had slain with his SMG.

"He made tracks, and we're gonna follow 'em." Cardell said as the five loaded up into the Pelican. The ODST's strapped into their seats as Steven entered the cockpit and handed the new co-ordinates to the pilots. Within minutes, they were back in space, flying through the fight again. Eventually, they were rocking back and forth in their seats as they entered the atmosphere. Soon, things smoothed out, and they were flying to the new DZ.

"We're hitting dirt in five minutes." the pilot said over the loudspeaker. With that, the five loaded their weapons and armed their senses. Soon, they were approaching the DZ…and then everything went to hell. The five in the passenger hold were jolted as something impacted with one of the wings. The Pelican began tottering, then barrel rolling towards the ground at an increasing and alarming rate.

"AA fire, AA fire!" cried the pilot. "We've lost an engine, we're going down, repeat we're goi-"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the video game series Halo, or any of the contents of its universe

_Disclaimer: I do not own the video game series Halo, or any of the contents of its universe. I only co-own the central characters._

**Part 4: The Crash Site**

Everything was black. There was no light, no sound. Only black. But that eventually changed. Ryerson soon began hearing noises, sounds, voices, and soon light came to his vision. He felt that he was lying on the ground. He was sore all over his body. The pain was good, it told him he was alive. He moaned and began stirring. Opening his eyes, he saw that his helmet was off.

"Nice to see you back in the land of the living, Corporal." Cardell said. He was crouching next to the sniper, his helmet sitting next to his feet. Then Merven was there, his helmet secure over his face.

"Don't move, I need to check you over." Merven said as he fumbled in his aid kit.

"I'm sure you do, Doc." Ryerson replied with a smirk before checking his surroundings. He was, as he'd suspected, lying on the ground outside of the Pelican. The bird itself had crashed into the ground in the shade of a mountainside. There was snow only a few feet away, but it gave way to the grass Ryerson was laying on. Defensive barricades recovered from the crashed bird had been set up in a perimeter around the crash site. Rowen and Steven were standing about, keeping their eyes open for enemy movement. In between them was a Heavy Machine Gun, mounted on its turret to cover the forward right flank. Just before the position was a large hill made of grass and stone, as well as some trees. "So what happened?" Ryerson asked in discomfort. He was only sore, and didn't think anything was seriously wrong.

"We took a hit to one of the wings. The pilots had to make a crash landing…neither of 'em made it." Sergeant Cardell said.

"Sucks for them." Ryerson said, rather coldly. He was of the type who believed the ODST's were better than everyone else, and thus didn't care much for those in other units or branches…especially Spartans. Cardell only shook his head at the corporal's narrow-mindedness.

"Alright, you're good." Merven finally said as he finished the exam and helped Ryerson stand. The corporal donned his helmet, glad to see his HUD functioned correctly.

"Where's my rifle?" Ryerson asked. Steven turned and stroed towards them, stopping by a box to pick up the rifle and held it towards Ryerson.

"Here." he said. At first, Ryerson only stared at it. Then he snatched it from the Spartan, as best he could anyways due to the weapon's size.

"So…now what?" Rowen asked, his Rocket Launcher on his back, and his Assault Rifle in his hands.

"We need to move out. I did some scout work earlier and saw a structure off to our right, it's by a large lake," said Cardell. "I'm willing to bet my next paycheck and half my 401-k that our target's there." he said as he stood. "If everyone's ready, we should-"

"Wait." Steven said, his gaze fixed in the direction of the structure. He ran forward, past a cave Ryerson just noticed, and gazed around the corner of the rock. Plasma fire and burning spikes flew passed his head, and the ODST's heard a Brute roard in rage and challenge. The Spartan turned and ran back to the position, skirting to the side and mounting the Machine Gun. Sergeant Cardell placed his helmet back on his head and grabbed his Battle Rifle just as a hoard of Covenant soldiers rounded the rock corner and rushed the position. Automatic weapons and Ryerson's Sniper Rifle began sending rounds into the charging force, but more soon came 'round the mountain, so to speak.

"Ryerson!" Cardell called as he fired another burst into a Grunt. "Get on top of the Pelican, give us some sniper support!" he called.

"Roger that, Sarge!" Ryerson cried as he reloaded his rifle. Turning, he ran around behind the crashed Pelican and climbed up onto it. He was able to stand on the wing and crouch. He was a really big and exposed target, but the Covenant never got a chance to fire effectively at him due to all the fire coming from the other four. Ryerson proceeded to fire shots at specific targets, always aiming for their heads. His prey of specialty was the higher ranking Brutes, those who were giving the orders. His scope soon saw a river just before the hill, curving around to the other side. Moving along it were several Grunt squads. "Sergeant! We got tangos moving alongside a river, they're gonna flank us from the left!" Ryerson relayed through his comm.

"Dammit, there's too many." Sergeant Cardell grumbled as he reloaded his Battle Rifle.

"I'll clear a path." Steven said. He then stopped firing his turret, and did what the four ODST's considered to be impossible: he ripped the gun off its tripod. While it was possible for most MG's, this wasn't most MG's. No human being could lift it alone…save for a Spartan apparently. Holding it at waist level, Steven began firing in bursts as he began walking towards the charging forces. The sheer amount of lead simply mowed them down as Steven pressed onward.

"Let's go guys, follow him outta here!" Cardell called. Ryerson leaped from the wing to the ground and followed the others as they made their way out of the kill zone. They moved around the rock, taking down any and all Covenant who opposed them. They came to a large rock formation and proceeded around it. Soon, Steven's turret ran out of ammo. Dropping it, Steven swept up two Spikers and loaded them. Charging around into full view of the structure, the five charged forward and eliminated the Covenant there, with Steven doing most of the work, and the ODST's simply mopping up the leftovers. Soon the structure was secure, yet littered with the bodies of dead Covenant soldiers.

"Status reports." Cardell said into his comm. He was on top of the structure, watching two odd vent like system pushing airt away from it.

"Ryerson, green." the sniper replied.

"Rowen, green." the heavy weapons specialist said.

"Delgado, green." the Spartan said. Silence then followed.

"Merven? Doc, do you read me?" Sergeant Cardell said into his comm, concern entering and coating his voice.

"Yeah, yeah I'm here. You might wanna see this Sarge. I'm inside." Merven replied.

The five men stood inside the structure, gazing at the glowing green light in the wall. It was a long cylinder, and nobody knew what it did.

"Maybe it's like a Covenant electric chair for executions." Rowen suggested.

"Maybe the freak over here could test that theory." Ryerson said nodding towards Steven.

"Watch the lip, Corporal." Cardell replied. Ryerson remained silent.

"Maybe it's a teleporter." Merven suggested.

"No way dude, that's an urban myth, like the Abominable Snowman or Big Ben." replied Rowen.

"No, they're real." Steven said. "Covenant communications make several references to them."

"So it's either an execution machine or a teleporter to some unknown dimension that could very well kill us by simply breathing." Rowen said.

"You guys stay here." Sergeant Cardell said. "If I'm not back in five minutes, search somewhere else."

"Are you crazy Sarge?!" Ryerson exclaimed in a panic. "Send the freak! That way we won't lose anything important if the thing does kill people!"

"I said watch the lip, Corporal." Cardell replied harshly. The staff sergeant then turned to Steven. "Remember what I said, Delgado: your new number one priority." He said.

"Yes sir." Steven replied. Cardell turned to the green light and let out a sigh. Raising his Battle Rifle, he stepped in and vanished. Several moments passed, the four standing in complete silence. When what seemed an eternity passed, Ryerson checked his watch. Then he heard a noise and jumped in surprise as Sergeant Cardell emerged from the teleporter.

"Guys…you might wanna see this…" he said before turning and reentering the teleporter. The others glanced at each other and followed one at a time, with Steven entering last, and leaving the structure abandoned and lifeless.


End file.
